Comments on: The state elections and federal implications

By: Martin B

Martin B — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 06:43:51 +0000

especially where there’s good reason to accept that they spend the money more sensibly

I don’t recall this argument being trotted out too often by the conservative commentariat between 1996 and 2007.

By: Sam

Sam — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 05:43:40 +0000

Looks like there’s a schism at the Shanahan seminary, what with Dennis treating Tone’s word as Gospel while Attila the Nun casts him as the apostate.

By: Lefty E

Lefty E — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 05:22:47 +0000

Yes! The Gazetters-in-chief of LNP press releases strike again.

Thanks for that abysmal partisan cut and paste passing as ‘analysis’ Shanahan.

Here’s a witty rejoinder for you – any thoughts on why LNP state oppositions keep falling short despite supportive factors like tired ALP state incumbency, scandals, Federal ALP incumbency?

Its a shockingly poor record: Lib failure to convert in QLD, ACT, NT, SA – and barely scraping home in WA & (maybe) Tas?

Im interested to hear your views on this consistent and scarcely precedented phenomoneon.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:47:05 +0000

@52 –

LABOR’S loss in Tasmania and its drubbing in South Australia, suffering large swings in both states, are being seen as the end of the ALP’s decade of national dominance and a warning to Kevin Rudd to concentrate on policy.

And if you read on, Lefty E, you’ll find that the results are being seen that way by… Tony Abbott and the Federal Director of the Liberal Party.

By: Paul Burns

Paul Burns — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:17:30 +0000

PinkyOz,
I hope I’m wrong too, and I’ll be the first to admit that after years of studying history, ranging from Ancient Greece and Rome, medieval Europe,(including the Rennaissance, the Reformation, Japan, China and Korea from the earliest times to about 1975,colonial and 20th century Australia,Australian diplomatic and military history with a special emphasis on the 1930s and World War II, and now 18th century England and America, I’m more likely to have a dark view of the world than an optimistic one. Certainly I’m nowhere near the idealist I was when I began in the discipline. But I do admit there are rare moments when the spirit of human good triumphs. Not many though. One of the things I realised studying Australian history is just how dark our past is, and that’s before one even begins to look at Aboriginal history. I’d tended to have the light on the hill version when I was a young fella. Not anymore.

By: PinkyOz

PinkyOz — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 23:43:42 +0000

Paul Burns @ 58 – I hope your wrong, I really do. Because if your right, there isn’t a lot of hope that we will get anywhere as a society.

Fortunatley, The libs change leader as oftn as they change underwear, and I’m sure electoral defeat will reinforce that next year. From there we shall see how captured by the Howardite right they are.

PinkyOz

By: Paul Burns

Paul Burns — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 23:03:47 +0000

PinkyOz @ 56,
i thought for a moment when Turnbull became leader that we were going to get back to the liberal tradition espoused by Menzies on. Unfortunately the party has been clearly captured by Howadites, who seek to perpetuate and institutionalise his abject far right philosophy. There’s no hope for them and I don’t want to wait a generation for them to change for the better. The most frightening effect of all this, of course, is the effect its having dragging Labor to the right. To a great extent Labor’s reformidst credentials, epitomised by Whitlam, have been scuttled off to some back room where once in the blue moon they’re brought out to make the left feel better. Howard had changed Australia for the worse, the same way Whitlam changed it for the better. Unfortunately, his influence looks as if it is going to be long lasting as Whitlam. Maybe JWH didn’t get out of bed every morning thinking how can I be a bastard today. Banal functionaries of evil regimes don’t think that way. They’re hardly conscious of the evil they embody. Besides if he tried to be a Mugabe or an Idi Amin, he wouldn’t last 2 seconds here, so he has to have a different modus operandi.
Now, re the announcement of the Labor loss that wasn’t. I’ve given up long ago expressing shock and horror at right wing media bias. When I was a very young man I can reemember being in demos outside the Tele in Sydney when Frank Packer ran it, protesting at their Labor bias. Things haven’t changed and sadly they never will.

By: Lefty E

Lefty E — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 21:54:30 +0000

Geoff, read it again!

By: PinkyOz

PinkyOz — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 21:39:37 +0000

Paul Burns @ 49 – I’m not going to even try to defend Howard’s social justice record, because it speaks for itself. As you said, it’s all wedge politics aimed at tapping into mutual fears about ‘other’ people. And I still doubt that Howard got up in the morning thinking ‘how can I oppress the darkies today?’.

Yes, the Liberal party of today is a far-right controlled ball of populism, hatred and fear-mongering, a truly sad predicament for a party that started in a good place. There is little to be learned from it other than how to avoid doing the same thing. That said, no side of politics has a monopoly on good ideas or morally correct answers, and that if we aren’t ready to listen to wider variety of viewpoints, we will miss good opportunities.

The Liberals have and quite possibly always will change over time, if they don’t they will die off and a new party/ies will form on the right. Keep an ear out, don’t miss an opportunity for positive change just because of a party brand.

PinkyOz

By: Mercurius

Mercurius — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 20:42:32 +0000

I really don’t think you can read either result as a commentary on federal politics.

So it's little wonder then that today's Australian leads with a headline that reads the results as a commentary on federal politics.